Perfusion procedure and apparatus for preventing necrosis following failed balloon angioplasty

Abstract

A perfusion catheter is used to avoid ischemia in case of failure of a conventional balloon angioplasty procedure on a stenotic blood vessel and a resulting partial or complete occlusion of the vessel. The balloon catheter is first removed from the vessel while the guide wire and the guide catheter are left in place. The perfusion catheter is immediately inserted into the guide catheter and run past the stenosis using the guide wire already in place. Blood is drawn from a side port in the sheath introduced at the point of entry into the vascular system of the patient under normal arterial pressure or after passing through an exterior pump for pressurization and re-injection in the perfusion catheter. Thus, blood flow to the part of the vessel past the occlusion can be reestablished within minutes of angioplasty failure and the patient can be stabilized in preparation for heart surgery.

Description

[0001] This application is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 09 / 327,645, filed on Jun. 8, 1999.[0002] 1. Field of the Invention[0003] This invention is related in general to the field of angioplasty treatment of atherosclerotic vessels in mammalian bodies. In particular, the invention pertains to a procedure for providing immediate blood flow through a blocked vessel following its collapse as a result of a failed angioplasty or stent placement.[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art[0005] Angioplasty treatments of body vessels are invasive procedures whereby a catheter is inserted into the vascular system to reach and treat a partial or total occlusion causing reduced blood flow. Most notable is balloon angioplasty, where the distal end of the catheter includes an inflatable balloon that is used to expand the vessel and restore sufficient lumen size to ensure adequate blood flow after removal of the catheter.[0006] This procedure has become very common in treating cardiov...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013] A final objective is a procedure that can be implemented easily and economically according to the above stated criteria.

[0014] Therefore, according to these and other objectives, the preferred embodiment of the present invention begins by utilizing a conventional catheter to perform a balloon angioplasty procedure on a stenotic blood vessel. In case of failure of the procedure and a resulting complete occlusion of the vessel, the balloon catheter is removed from the vessel while the guide wire and the guide catheter are left in place. A perfusion catheter is immediately inserted into the guide catheter and run past the stenosis using the guide wire already in place. Blood is drawn from a side port in the sheath introduced at the point of entry into the vascular system of the patient, typically along the femoral artery, and is passed into the perfusion catheter under normal arterial pressure. In the event of loss of arterial pressure, the blood so drawn is passed through an exterior pump for pressurization and re-injection in the perfusion catheter. Thus, blood flow to the part of the vessel past the occlusion can be reestablished within minutes of angioplasty or stent-placement failure and the patient can be stabilized in preparation for heart surgery.

Problems solved by technology

Because of the pressure exerted by the balloon, the vessel remains completely obstructed during the procedure, which normally lasts one to two minutes.

During this time, blood flow through the vessel is essentially precluded and the heart tissue downstream of the blockage is dangerously deprived of oxygen.

While conceptually advantageous to provide an attractive solution to the problem of angioplasty-induced ischemia, these perfusion angioplasty catheters have met very little acceptance in the medical community.

One problem is the increased size of such catheters with respect to conventional angioplasty catheters, which results from the added channels and apparatus required to perform the perfusion function within the lumen of the catheter.

Other issues are greater cost and intricacy of use.

Sometimes, as a result of a coronary angioplasty or a stem placement, the arterial vessel collapses and blood flow to the heart is completely blocked, creating a severe, life-threatening emergency.

Unfortunately, that is often not possible because of the time delay involved in reaching the affected artery.

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